


Blood and Tears

by GoodFoolofIllyria



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash grew up normally in Cape Cod AU, M/M, The Ash/Eiji is more implied though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 17:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20313463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodFoolofIllyria/pseuds/GoodFoolofIllyria
Summary: Eiji's tagged along for a trip to America with Ibe to help work on interviews for a story Ibe's working on that follows young geniuses in America. There he meets Aslan Callenreese, a seventeen year old genius from Cape Cod.Based off of an AU by @enta_jinnai on Twitter





	Blood and Tears

“I’ve always felt like something awful was supposed to happen to me.”

They were sitting side by side on the porch of Aslan Callenreese’s home. The sun was setting, light hitting the grass in a way that made it almost look on fire. So far, Eiji’s interview had been going normally. Back when they had been inside and Ibe had been leading the interview, Aslan’s responses had been exactly the kind of responses they had been expecting.

_Q: What’s next as a young genius?- and now, don’t be modest, you were accepted into Mensa at age fourteen, have already been offered full rides to all the Ivy’s, and have already been offered jobs at top research institutions, so don’t even try and argue that point._

_A: Well, thank you. As for what’s next, I suppose the same for every other seventeen year old across America; pray that I make it through my senior year._

_Q: Haha, of course. Now, who would you say has been your biggest supporter throughout your years? _

_A: Well, that would have to be my brother for sure, he’s always been a really positive force in my life since my childhood. He’s really shown me the kind of person I want to be in life._

The interview had revealed exactly the kind of perfect story they needed for their article; a portrait of the kind of genius people loved; a small town young man who was both hardworking and modest. The kind of kid people rooted for. And so when the official interview had concluded, and Eiji had sat down next to Aslan, drinking cola and talking about teenage life, Eiji had expected anything but this statement.

“What do you mean?” asked Eiji. Aslan turned to him, and Eiji was surprised by just how green his eyes were. He hadn’t noticed before, but they seemed to go on forever.

“Every night since I was seven years old, I’ve had terrifying nightmares. I can never remember what happens in them, but I haven’t slept normally ever since then. And even throughout the day, I’ve always had the sense that I wasn’t supposed to be here. You know? My whole life has always just felt slightly off.” Aslan shot Eiji a pained smile.

Eiji wasn’t sure how to respond. His life had been ordinary from birth. He had faced issues of course, but everything had always seemed as it was supposed to be.

He asked, “Do you wish your life was something else then?”

“No,” Ash said, “No, I’ve been living my life exactly as I want to, it’s just that, I’m not sure…” Aslan trailed off here, and there was a moment of silence between the two, filled only by the sound of cicadas. Finally, Aslan seemed to find the words. “I suppose it just doesn’t seem fair.”

“What doesn’t seem fair?”

“Escaping whatever my fate was. Being happy when I’m clearly not supposed to be. It’s almost like when I fall asleep, the world’s trying to tell me ‘Here! Here’s what’s supposed to have happened to you!’” Ash paused. “That’s stupid, but it’s the best way I can explain it I guess.” Eiji frowned.

“Well, I for one think you deserve to be happy.”

Aslan didn’t say anything. He just looked off into the distance for a second, then smiled. Finally, he stood up, and turned to Eiji.

“Thanks.”

\---

The next day came, and Eiji knew it was time to move on from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Ibe said they were going to stop in New York City for the next interview, then fly to California to visit a friend. And after that, they’d leave America and travel back to Japan. Eiji had been feeling homesick, but when he thought about leaving America, he found an even greater sadness than the home sickness washed over him. He couldn’t figure out what he was sad to leave, but he knew that he wasn’t ready yet to leave.

“Hey Eiji, it’s time to go,” Ibe called from downstairs. The Callenreese family, Jim, Jennifer, Griff, and Aslan, had been nice enough to lend some rooms upstairs of their house to spend the night following the interview. They had offered a breakfast as well, but Ibe had refused. The sooner they got to New York, the more time they would be able to spend touring the city before their last interview.

“I’m coming down,” he said. As he walked down the stairs, he felt as if he was making some kind of mistake. He couldn’t tell what it was, but there was a sense of uneasiness. He reached the kitchen, and he and Ibe said goodbye to the Callenreeses.

“Wait.”

Eiji was halfway through the doorway. He turned, and looked into a pair of green eyes.

“Yes?”

“Um, I just wanted to say…” Aslan seemed to struggle with the words for a couple of seconds, then reaffirmed himself. “I didn’t have a nightmare last night.”

“Oh.”

“It was the first time in years and I don’t know why but I think it has something to do with you and, well…” Aslan took a sharp breath. “I think what I’m supposed to do is let you go. But I don’t want to. I don’t think that’d be what’d make me happy.”

Eiji suddenly understood what the source of his sadness was.

“I don’t think I could ever say goodbye to you.” Aslan smiled, and Eiji was struck not by how warm the smile was, but at the realization that he had never seemed so joyful the entirety of the past day. No matter how much Aslan had talked about being happy, he hadn’t truly been.

“I want to come with you then. It doesn’t have to be now. But I want to visit you soon in your home. Maybe I’ll conduct my own interview. Find out who Eiji Okumura really is.”

“I’ll hold you to that interview.”

And so Eiji left. But he didn’t say goodbye. Because it truly wasn’t a goodbye. He felt it in his bones. Maybe in a different life, the one Aslan felt the presence of, this would be the end. But not in this life. In this life, Aslan Callenreese and Eiji Okumura got to be happy. They would never say goodbye. And parting would just mean another reunion.

In this life, there was no need for letters soaked in blood and tears. Aslan was already free.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I might make some edits at a later date, but this is it for now. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
